AOL Buys Video Ad Company for $405M

[1]Shares of AOL (AOL[2]) surged almost 5% in Wednesday morning trading after the Internet pioneer announced an acquisition[3] and posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings.

AOL said it will pay $405 million to purchase Adap.tv, a developer of online video advertising technology. The deal includes $322 million in cash payments and $83 million in AOL common shares, Bloomberg notes.

Adap.tv coordinated more than 26,000 marketing campaigns spread over 9,500 websites. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said the acquisition would boost its advertising business.

During the second quarter, AOL generated sales of $541.3 million, up 2% compared to the same time last year. That missed the $544.5 million that analysts had expected.

Quarterly EPS came in at 46 cents, topping the 43 cents that Wall Street had forecast. Advertising revenue climbed 7% from last year, hitting $361.2 million.